Current Child Count

HOGAR DE AMOR I: 11 babies

HOGAR DE AMOR II: 6 boys

HOGAR DE AMOR III: 8 girls

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Caring

A few nights ago, I was happily bouncing a smiling, filthy dirty baby in my lap when I was told that her mother is HIV+. Both live in the street. My heart sunk as I quickly connected the dots and realized that her baby must be positive as well.

Apart from our little girl at CDA and an occasional meeting, I have never been in daily contact with so many with HIV until now. And I can feel so helpless beyond just being there for them and being their friend. But watching the video in this post, "Dying and Rejected by the Church", reminded me that sometimes that's all we can do.

And it is considered significant by those surviving even though rejected by "normal" society. Every day, every night, when I offer a listening ear and a word of encouragement or share a laugh, I see a light come back in their eyes. Could it be hope?

Words cannot describe how privileged I feel to be able to live here, surrounded by need, spending myself on behalf of the weak as we walk side by side. Since last week, that includes keeping track of 3 medications, multiple tests and doctor/lab appointments, and seven days of 9pm injections for one of my friends from the bridge. And that's just ONE of my friends... It's exhausting, but I cannot imagine doing anything else.

As I type, I hear little voices float up to the office. It is snack time, and the prayer included a blessing for the street children. So young, and yet already ministering.

Watch the video and think of who you can love today.

Ten years ago today, my family had the court hearing in Russia that made Emma "ours"! Today, a Bolivian couple has their court hearing to become the parents of our 20 month old boy F. Exciting!

1 comment:

That's a powerful video that you linked to. And also powerful is when the kids pray like that. I remember Rudy once praying for "los ninos de la calle", and I felt like I was going to break. Pretty humbling when a four-year-old shows you what to do.

Jennifer's Family Blog

Current Prayer Needs, updated August 14, 2015

~ The financial situation for Casa de Amor is uncertain at the moment. Funding seems to have slowed, so please pray for financial wisdom for all of us and for donations to generously come.

~ Please pray for the newly functioning local board of directors. They have some big decisions to be making and are seeking God's wisdom.

~ Thank you for praying for a new social worker! A very experienced one began work with us on February 2.

~ Please pray for good progress to be made in the social cases of all of our children so that their papers can be processed for a return to family members OR adoption. Several cases are in the works now!

Baby Joel

Baby Gabriela

CDA Child Sponsorship

Click HERE to find out more about sponsoring one of these beautiful children!

No Names

Due to the nature of our work, Hogar de Amor has a policy of not posting kids pictures AND names together on the internet or public places. How I wish I could, but I could easily have people from Belgium to Canada and everywhere in between writing and asking "How can I adopt [fill in the blank]?" (You can't! Yet! They're mine.) Or many other scenarios which are not good for the kids/homes, so sorry about that...

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Favorite Quotes

"Attempt something so impossible that unless God is in it, it is doomed to failure."

"We can do no great things; only small things with great love." Mother Teresa

“What we think or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do." John Ruskin

"I am only one,
but I AM ONE.
And I cannot do everything,
but I can do SOMETHING.
And what I can do I WILL DO.
And what I will do, I MUST DO,
For I AM ONE." Helen Keller

Donations

Small amounts go far in Bolivia! To donate to our children, make checks payable to "GOAL" (Global Orphan Assistance League) and mail to GOAL/Casa de Amor at P.O. Box 357, Collierville, TN, 38027. All donations are tax deductible in the US. Thank you!!

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A lot of kiddos!!

Casa de Amor I, II, III, August 2008 Park Outing

"And Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them." Mark 10:16